Okay, I'm being dramatic again. But I still have a really good deal to tell you about. And before you click away thinking this is a self promotion thing, let me assure you it is NOT.

If you are just a reader of books this post may not excite you (sorry, but thanks for stopping by). This one is for all my writerly friends out there, more specifically self-pubbers.

One of the pitfalls of self publishing is the upfront costs you have to pay to get your book into the public. Cover art, editing, and formatting are things you should not be skimping out on. If you can't do it yourself, you should hire a professional.

But say you're like me, strapped for cash and trying to decide whether you should spend your hard earned cash on the cover, the editing or the formatting. Well, I can help you out with one of those.

When I decided to separate the stories in my collection Contemplations of Dinner into single shorts I knew I couldn't afford to pay for ten expensive covers. I can justify paying $200 -$500 on a cover for a novel, but it's harder for me to shell that out for just a 6,000 word short.

So I went on over to the site Fiverr. For those that don't know, Fiverr is a website where people offer all kinds of services, some legit, some comical, for five dollars each. I sifted through the many graphic designers and came across an artist going by the handle Freestyle25.

Freestyle 25 is actually a wonderful young lady by the name of Emily Lam. I liked the samples Emily had displayed on her Fiverr page, but I was a bit worried. That whole "getting what you paid for" thing. But Emily quickly put my fears to rest.

Long story short (too late, I know) I hired Emily to create covers for eight short stories and new covers for both Contemplations of Dinner and Guarding the Healer. She is professional, courteous, patient and extremely talented.

I have seen covers of Emily's caliber go for $200+ easily. I feel a bit guilty about only paying her $5 a piece. Even though it would be shooting myself in the foot, I've tried to suggest to Emily that she ought to start her own cover design business, but unfortunately Fiverr has strict policies about directly emailing each other. I'm hoping she will read this blog post and consider it. But until then I suggest you take advantage of her generous nature and grab a cheap cover.

It's one of the best deals I've come across in a long time.

If you want proof you should head over to my Amazon page and look at the covers. The only covers that aren't hers are the paperback version of Guarding the Healer, Predatory Animals, the audio version of Contemplations of Dinner and the anthology Cat Tales 2.